An experience I will never forget...

Posted by a volunteer who participated in our July volunteer trip in New Orleans.

The trip to New Orleans last week was amazing in so many ways. Good friends, good food, good fun and a great organization; much beyond what my expectations were.

 

This was my second time to New Orleans. The first time was last April when I had travelled down to work with Habitat for Humanity. While Habitat was a great organization to work with, and I have volunteered with them in the past and will continue to in the future, I was saddened that I had not been made fully aware of all of the issues still surrounding Katrina. I am so grateful that we were able to work with Katrina Corps. Even though they are all volunteer and have only two “staff”, they are small, mighty and passionate, which made it one heck of a lot easier to get through the work days with 95 plus degree heat!

 

I had my first REAL tour of the lower 9^th ward this week. I had a spot driving tour the last time, and was able to see damage from a car. This time, I realized, this is real. I was both emotionally overwhelmed and numb at the same time because I kept thinking to myself, there is no way this is real. No way. Some things in New Orleans look like they did almost three years ago. Three years. Marshall took us into a house that he had gutted. He told us about when he gutted the upper bedroom. He noticed that two little girls shared the room, most likely sisters. All of their belongings including clothes, pictures, awards, posters, all gone due to the flooding. Not only that, but all of the memories that were created in that home came to an abrupt halt due to such a terrible tragedy. We then went to a church that was still in the condition it was the day that the water subsided. You could tell it had been ready for Sunday service. Music stands and silk flowers were out, but in extreme disarray. A thick layer of sludge covered everything, just as it had almost three years ago. I wondered where all of the members of the church had gone. What was their experience? Where are they now?

 

Our work was very rewarding. We were refurbishing a school that had been hit by Hurricane Katrina itself (wind and rain mostly) and received minimal flooding compared to other places. Like many schools, the building has set vacant since the storm. It will be rented to various arts related non-profits for art classes to be held. We did a variety of tasks like ripping up flooring, removing nails, painting the theater (many of us learned how to work a 30 extension paint pole pretty good J), spraying for mold and assembling desks. The school is set to open in September- I am jealous of the team going down in October- you’ll get to see the final product!

One thing about Katrina Corps was that they gave us the WHOLE New Orleans experience. They felt, and I agree, that in order to fully understand what was lost, you must understand the full culture. And boy, did we get it! From swamp tours with a true southerner, to listening to local bands on Frenchman, to visiting bars for the locals and everything in between, we got to see how vibrant New Orleans really is!

 

I couldn’t have had such a great experience without all of my team mates. This group was the best set of people that a girl would ever want to spend 24 hours a day for 7 days with J Big arm pumps goes out to all of you!!

 

Rebecca :)